Teramae got school alumni to raise funds for teaching positions that Jarrett is scheduled to lose in a $77,000 cut next fall.

"My vision is to be self-supported," said Teramae, who has been at Jarrett for a bit over a year.

He asked the dozen active alumni of the William Paul Jarrett Middle School Foundation to raise double the $8,000 they raised last year. Teramae hopes to use the money to lure more funds from the Department of Education to offset the budget cut.

"Times have changed. We need more than equipment and supplies," he told them.

In the past the foundation would have been "happy to have 60 or 70 people" attend its annual fundraising dinner. But Teramae told them about the budget cut -- starting with $77,000 in the 2006-07 school year -- which would mean the loss of at least one full-time and one part-time teacher, and a shortage of equipment and supplies.

"They were really taken aback," and said they couldn't raise that amount. Teramae told them he wasn't expecting that, "but I asked them to look at the bigger picture," which was to be less dependent on state funds in order to provide a quality education.

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Students in the Jarrett Intermediate School library used one of several computer labs on the campus yesterday.

The foundation put Gayle Kutaka in charge, and she has been "awesome" in "changing their mindset" and running the fundraiser in a professional way, he said.

For the first time, they've asked large corporations for donations, and Bank of Hawaii and Hawaiian Electric Co. agreed to sponsor tables (from $500 to $2,000) at the dinner. They are trying to get several hundred to attend the March 18 dinner at the Japanese Cultural Center, he said.

Under a new student formula, the Palolo school could face cuts of up to $770,000 over the next four years.*

Teramae said he understands the need for equity, but he thinks the formula may need to be revised for different schools with special problems.

Jarrett would lose more than two teaching positions because the Department of Education's district office lends them two more full-time and two part-time teachers -- making it a total potential loss of six teachers, he said.

And Jarrett has several things going against it: 70 percent of the students come from low-income families; 55 percent use English as a second language; and over 50 percent of his students live at Palolo Housing.

Two years ago, Jarrett failed to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind mandate, and is undergoing state supervised restructuring. But it is the only middle school in the state to make Adequate Yearly Progress, and may be reclassified, he added.

"More unjust than losing money is Jarrett's reputation of a place where you get hijacked every day, and bullies beat you up, and that the kids are not smart," said Teramae.

"Our kids have greater issues (than schools further east) outside of school. When they go home, it's different. Education may not be a priority in the family, so they aren't given time to do their homework. When they go home, they have to do chores or watch their younger brothers and sisters," he said, noting the formula does not take this into account.

CORRECTION

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

» Jarrett Intermediate School is holding a fundraiser to try to offset the loss of up to $770,000 from its budget over the next four years. A story on Page A6 yesterday incorrectly said that amount was up to $770,000 per year over four years.